DJ Shy wanted to know my experience with the Surface Pro 3 and if it would be a viable backup system. This was my response.
... I did some testing yesterday. Unfortunately, it was with the new 1.7.4 Beta which people are reporting audio drop outs and Buffer Issues. I will try it with 1.7.3 Final tomorrow. I have to increase the Rane 68 buffer to 10ms for no audio glitches. I had it at 2ms with no problems on previous Serato versions.
The Surface Pro 3 sure is nice. I've always wanted a Wacom Tablet with pressure a sensitive pen. Now, I can just draw directly on the Surface which is very cool. Plus, Microsoft is constantly improving the firmware for better performance and optimization. I even plan to install hackintosh OSX on it.
Here are the problems I've run into with Serato.
• Serato just runs better on OSX.
• It suffers from Throttling. It has an onboard temperature sensor (Not a CPU Temp) that lowers the CPU mhz. Another words, it's fast at first but then degrades. The i7 does not perform at the same level than a similar i7 on a Notebook or PC. This shouldn't be a huge problem for audio files, but it will definitely effect video. I'm still doing testing.
• Serato Video is not suppose to work on integrated Intel graphics. I haven't done to much testing but it worked for me right out of the gate. Of course, the i7 processor has the beefier Intel HD Graphics 5000.
• Any resolution over 1920x1080 in Windows and Serato will give you playback problems.
• Serato DJ does not scale and doesn't support display scaling. So everything is tiny. The only thing Serato allows you to scale is the library text.
• You are forced to use a USB Hub if you want to use a External Hard Drive in addition to the DJ Controller. It's always recommended to plug the Controller straight into the PC.
• I have to override the default setting to make the Surface act more like a PC than a tablet. You have to enable Hyper-V so it won't constantly put to sleep your USB devices.
USB selective suspend settings to Disabled from
support.serato.com
Quote:
To enable Hyper‑V on Windows 8.1
1. In Control Panel, tap or click Programs, and then tap or click Programs and Features.
2. Tap or click Turn Windows Features on or off.
3. Select Hyper‑V, tap or click OK, and then tap or click Close.
4. Shut down your PC, and then restart it.
As of now, I can honestly say I couldn't use it as a backup for Serato DJ. However, Virtual DJ 8 with video works great on it.
